Southern Utah Fun

This past summer we stopped overnight in St. George, Utah on our way home from our family vacation. We enjoyed it so much that we've been wanting to go back and spend more time there. I've also been wanting to spend some time with Courtney & Daniel, so they met us in St. George for the weekend and we fit in as much togetherness & fun as we could.

One of our favorite things to do in that area is hike in Zion's National Park, so we picked out a moderate hike (a combination of the Kayenta & Emerald Pools). When we jumped onto the shuttle bus to take us up the canyon I was alittle concerned. Everyone was wearing a jacket and long pants. And here we all were in shorts and t-shirts and it was cold. It turned out okay though...we walked really fast for the first half-mile when we were in the shade. Then we crossed to the other side of the canyon and were in the sun. It ended up getting pretty warm and we were glad we didn't have jackets to carry.

I never used to be in awe of the beauty of nature, but I must be getting older, or more appreciative, or something because the last few years it has grown to be my favorite part of hiking. And I LOVED the views on this particular hike!

I am always the person taking the pictures, so I'm never in them. The girls decided I needed to be in a picture on this hike for proof that I am there.

There was a huge rock that I wanted everyone to climb up so I could get their picture, but only Sierra, Daniel & Callie made it up. It was a bit hard to climb.

Sierra at the top of the rock

We stayed at an awesome hotel in a 2-bedroom suite so we could all be together. The funny thing was that we didn't realize Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, his wife and his mom were staying next door to us until the last day of our vacation. We knew they were at the hotel, because Stan talked to Elder Holland at breakfast our first morning (mostly about BYU football). But, on Sunday we ran into all 3 of them several times, twice in front of our hotel doors. Elder Holland's mom (she told us she was 95 & was so cute) lives in St. George and they brought her to the hotel to stay with them, so they could visit with her. What I noticed immediately about the Holland family was a light in their countenance. They were so friendly and seemed genuinely happy people. It was a great experience for our family to meet a leader of our church, one of the 12 apostles. Too bad I didn't get a picture, huh?

We always love to take the kids to whatever is being performed at the Tuachan (an outdoor theatre). This year it was "Crazy For You"...a Gershwin musical. Somehow I lost our tickets between the "Will Call" box office and the entrance, but thankfully some good person found them and returned them to the box office. I was so grateful for honest people.

Callie spent a couple hours designing and making this poster all about Courtney & Daniel. She used the letters in their name to describe their likes and dislikes. It was so cute and funny.